Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any other Marvel characters. I only own my OC.

A/N: This is a short chapter but I wanted to focus on Tony after the last chapter and how he feels with how he behaved, and him realizing he needs to fix his mistakes. Things are starting to turn around. The next chapter will be longer.

Did you guys also hear how Electro is going to be in Spider-Man 3 and that Jamie Foxx is going to play him again? Now I have no idea if his character is going to be completely revamped or if that multiverse theory is still going to happen. Whichever way they decide to do the movie, I'm sure all of us can agree it's exciting news.


"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" ― L.M. Montgomery


Chapter 17: Donuts and lectures

A well deserved hangover was approaching come morning time. Tony had flown all throughout the city, with no specific destination in mind, when he suddenly settled on Randy's Donuts. Settled wasn't really the correct word since there was a main for why he went there. Though the billionaire wouldn't admit to anyone else, the main reason he went there was because the place gave him a fond memory.

It was where Tony and Louisa went after meeting each other for the first time. She'd been the one to recommend going there, and he gladly went with her.

What a night that turned out to be.

But that was then. And now he was in the present.

And since he royally messed things up with his daughter because of him getting drunk at his birthday party, and then fighting with his best best, followed by him leaving her without saying anything, some foolish part of him (he blamed his hangover) figured that this was as good as it was going to get from now on. Eating a box of donuts on a rooftop with him wearing his Iron Man suit. All while feeling like a total loser. And much like the hangover, it was a rightfully deserved lousy feeling.

The sun would have really bothered him if it weren't for the sunglasses he was wearing. He honestly can't remember how he got them. Other than the birthday party fiasco, everything else that followed the night was pretty much a blur.

"Sir! I'm going to have to ask you to exit the donut!"

Tony finished the last bite of doughnut he had before lowering his sunglasses. He almost let out an annoyed groan at who he saw on the ground. It was a man dressed in all black, including the familiar trench-coat he wore. Tony knew exactly who this man was and it wasn't helping with his hangover.

It was Nick Fury.

Meeting Nick Fury the following night right after Tony announced he was Iron Man was certainly a surprise. A surprise he did well in hiding by his usual humor that he knew many found annoying...Nick Fury not being an exception.

The man was as serious as they came when he talked about the whole Avengers Initiative nonsense. And even though Tony didn't take it as seriously as him, he was inwardly relieved that neither Grace or Pepper were there during that encounter. He hadn't even mentioned it to either of them. Not yet anyways. But with the way things were going, Tony wouldn't be able to anyways considering the time he had left.

Fury walked inside the donut shop without saying anything else. There was a stern expression set on his face as he walked away that let Tony know not going in wasn't exactly an option. In a way it reminded the billionaire of a parent about to scold their child.

Tony let out a sigh and waited a few more seconds before he finally got down the rooftop. When stepping inside the shop he took a seat across where Fury was sitting. Two cups of coffee were already on the table. One for Fury and the other he supposed was for him. Tony took the coffee without saying so much as a thank you. He was too hungover, not to mention mad at himself for the destruction he caused with his and Grace's relationship

"I told you, I don't want to join your super-secret boy band." Tony grumbled as he slouched from where he was sitting.

Fury, who despite chucking, didn't seem highly amused. "No, no, no, see, I remember." He replied halfheartedly. "You do everything yourself." He took a sip from his coffee. "How's that working out for ya?"

"It's...it's..." Tony couldn't keep it together and just decided to be frank with him. He adjusted his sunglasses. "I'm sorry, I don't wanna get off on the wrong foot...do I look at the patch or the eye?"

There was a smirk on Fury's face but other than that he didn't respond to the question. It's been years now since the eye incident, and questions about his appearance didn't faze him in the slightest.

Tony was going to take a drink from his coffee, but he instead rubbed his forehead. "Honestly, I'm a bit hungover. I'm not sure if you're real, or if I'm having a weird delusion."

Extreme seriousness invaded Fury's face now as he leaned over the table. There was no smirk on his face anymore when he stared at Tony. "I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

"Just my luck." Tony replied dryly. He didn't react in any way scared or nervous. Having Howard as a father made him a tough person to crack regarding seriousness. He glanced over his shoulder and barely noticed how empty the place was. "Where's the staff here?"

"That's not looking too good." Fury nonchalantly commented when he saw the dark veins that were now spread over Tony's neck.

Tony dismissed his comment like it was nothing. "I've been worse."

"We've secured the perimeter, but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer."

Tony frowned at the sound of that voice. It was female and familiar. Although it was familiar, Tony was still shocked from what he actually saw. He'd even almost choked on his coffee. He took off his sunglasses just to get a better look, and pushed away the cup of coffee.

There standing in front of their table was Natalie in a dark body suit that reminded him of those old spy movies he used to watch, only way more modernized. Even with his hangover it didn't take him long to realize that she was connected with Fury in some way. If he had been sober he would have said something that matched the shock of it all.

"Huh...you're fired." Tony muttered. Suddenly an image of Pepper rolling her eyes, and Grace shaking her head from disapproval at his behavior entered his mind. He almost fell face first onto the table from the guilt of it all. Miraculously he was able to stay seated somewhat with his slouching.

"That's not up to you." The dark redhead simply answered back. She didn't appear concerned at all as she sat next to Fury.

Fury then began the proper introduction of who she really was to the Stark man. "Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff."

Tony rubbed his eyes, still somewhat processing what was going on. "Hi."

"I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. shadow, my real name is Natasha." The dark redhead told him with a steady voice. "Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury."

Tony seemed to get a hold of himself once thoroughly going over what she said. His posture went from slouching to even. It was clear that his protective father side was starting to show. "This whole time?" He asked, his eyes narrowing in what looked like anger. "Even when you were with my daughter? Watching her?"

People could say all they wanted about Tony Stark, but not being a caring father certainly wasn't true. Even with how stupid he'd been the night before, Natasha knew his love for his daughter remained.

However, Natasha almost frowned at the angered tone towards her. It was justifiable of course for a parent to be angered when it came to their child's safety. But as if she'd do anything to harm Grace. Thankfully Natasha was skilled at keeping her emotions controlled. "No harm ever came to her." She informed him in a cool tone.

Based on Tony's expression he wasn't one hundred percent convinced but he wasn't able to retort on it.

"You've been busy." Fury blurted, directing Tony's attention from Natasha onto him. "You made your girl your CEO, you're giving away all your stuff. You're spending your money like there's no tomorrow on your daughter by buying her countless things. And you let your friend fly away with your suit." He made a faux thinking face. "Now, if I didn't know better"

"You don't know better." Tony interrupted him while trying to control his voice. The irritation was slipping through. "And I didn't give it to him, he took it."

Fury pretended to be thrown off. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! He took it? You're Iron Man and he just took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit?" He glanced at Natasha. "Is that possible?"

Natasha's expression was now unreadable, much to Tony's annoyance. "Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage." She added without skipping a beat.

Tony wanted to close his eyes from frustration. He let out a sigh. "What do you want from me?"

"What do we want from you?" Fury asked, his voice raising. "No, uh-uh. What do you want from me?"

Tony wasn't really paying attention anymore and missed Natasha walking away from them.

"You have become a problem." Fury continued speaking to him as if he were a child with no manners. "A problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe."

Tony looked to be focusing elsewhere. "Yeah, I get it."

"I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with. And you know what?" Fury's tone of voice was steely now. "Me babysitting a grown ass man who has his own child that he needs to look out for is not on my damn agenda. Hit him." He ordered Natasha who had quietly come back to them.

Natasha quickly injected Tony's neck with the syringe she had brought.

Tony jumped in his seat. "Oh God!" He looked at Natasha, body calming down from the sudden scare he got from the shot. "Are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it?"

Natasha just stared at him, not impressed. "Could you please not do anything awful, for five seconds." It didn't take long for Fury and Natasha to see the dark lines on Tony's neck begin to fade away.

Tony's eyes widened a bit when he started to feel less weak. He was both relieved and wary at the sudden change. "What did she do to me?"

"What did she just do for you." Fury corrected him. "That's lithium dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work."

Tony didn't thank Natasha, he just rolled his eyes. It was evident to Natasha that he hadn't forgiven her despite not actually bringing any harm to his daughter. The dark redhead didn't comment on that.

"Give me a couple boxes of that." Tony told them in a low voice. "I'll be right as rain."

Natasha continued to inspect his neck. "It's not a cure. It just abates the symptoms."

"Doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy fix." Fury informed the Stark man.

"Trust me, I know I'm good at this stuff." Tony answered him earnestly. All hangover behavior was now gone. "I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I've tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

"Well, I'm here to tell you that you haven't tried them all." Fury informed him cryptically.

Tony frowned at that but kept quiet. He let his gaze wander out the doughnut shop's window. He had no idea what the hell Fury was talking about. All he knew was that time was running on him...and thanks to last night he ruined things between his daughter and him.

"Tony." Natasha called out in a surprising soft tone of voice. Tony looked at her with suspicious eyes. He wondered what she was going to say. Nothing good he bet. But he was wrong.

"For what it's worth I don't think you're a bad father."

Tony's harsh demeanor crumbled a little at her kind words.

"You're just being a dumbass." Natasha then bluntly told him. From across from him, Tony could see Fury smirk at the dark redhead's comment. Tony himself couldn't argue with her because it was true. He was being a dumbass in regards to how he acted with his daughter, and everyone else he cared for. "But there's time to fix that as well. You just need to keep looking."

Natasha's words seemed to get through him.

From what Fury initially hinted at there was something out there that could save him. So Tony couldn't give up now even though he had no idea where the hell to look. He had hope, and that was something new.

The Stark man definitely needed to get his shit together. Not only for himself but for his daughter. He really didn't want Grace to think for the rest of her life that he just abandoned her. He wasn't her Uncle Miguel, and he never would be.

Tony certainly made mistakes that he needed to fix. Not only with Grace but with Pepper, and Rhodey. He needed to fix all of them, and as soon as possible would be best.